Effect of body weights of day-old Muscovy ducklings on growths and carcass traits

Abstract. The purpose of this work was to determine the effect of the body weights of day-old Muscovy ducklings on some slaughter value traits of females aged ten weeks and males aged twelve weeks. The relationships between the body weights of day-old ducklings, daily gains and slaughter value of grown-up ducks were also analyzed. The experimental materials comprised 96 White Muscovy ducklings (46 ♂ and 50 ♀). Males and females were reared separately, to twelve and ten weeks of age respectively. At the completion of the rearing period the birds were fasted for 12 hours and sacrificed. The carcasses were chilled, weighed and subjected to a detailed dissection. Before statistical calculations were carried out, males and females were divided into five weight groups, depending on their body weights on the first day following hatching. At the end of the experiment it was found that the grown-up ducks once classified as light, medium-heavy and heavy ducklings did not differ significantly in terms of body weight, mean daily gains, carcass weight, as well as the weight and percentage of particular tissue components in a carcass. Low and statistically non-significant values of the coefficients of simple correlation and regression suggest a lack of interdependences between the body weights of day-old ducklings and the slaughter value parameters of adult Muscovy ducks. The only exception was the carcass dressing percentage of males, which was found to be significantly negatively correlated with their body weights on the first day of life.